Members of the Teamsters Union Local 495 and BMW workers organized a protest on Tuesday outside labor law firm Jackson Lewis in downtown Los Angeles.
The reason is that the firm represents BMW North America in its dispute with the labor union over the termination of contract of 68 employees in its Ontario, California parts distribution center.
The protesters said that the law firm is assisting BMW in “destroying American jobs” because the North American division of the German automaker has decided to replace these workers with non-union contract workers by a third-party logistics firm.
BMW claims that the decision not to renew the contracts that expire on August 31 is not related to the union or wages but about operating its Ontario facility the way it operates its other North American plants through third-party workers.
BMW’s decision has also angered California Democrat Senator and Ethics Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, who wrote a letter to BMW North America CEO Jim O’Donnell urging him to reconsider. She also reminded him that his company received $3.6 billion in low-interest loans during the 2008-2009 bailout and that in the first quarter BMW’s earnings were triple that of 2010.
Story Sources: LA Times
